The Li Clan members below the ring were no less stunned. Mouths gaped open, eyes widened, and many stood frozen in disbelief, as if their minds had stopped functioning.
"Isn't Li Wei just an Elite? Since when did he become this strong?"
"I'm also an Elite—why does the difference feel like heaven and earth?"
"That strength just now… there's no way an Elite could do that. Did Li Wei advance to Upper Elite?"
"In three days? From Elite to Upper Elite? Are you joking?"
"He only used two fingers to blow Li Mingtian away! He should be several stages above Mingtian. Must be like 5 or 6-star Upper Elite."
"And it wasn't a trick or deflection. It was a direct clash of strength!"
"Wait a second. Does that mean he really will challenge Shangguan Siyu?"
"No, I don't believe it. That former trash Li Wei couldn't possibly be this strong!"
"Exactly! This must be a coincidence. Or maybe Li Mingtian held back on purpose!"
"Yes, yes! He was clearly going easy on him, letting Li Wei save face!"
"Yeah. I think he is afraid of the Patriarch. Even if the Clan Head won't do anything now, Mingtian might fear that the Patriarch will bore deep grudge against him later on."
The crowd buzzed with frantic denial. No one could accept that Ryan's strength had soared to such a terrifying level in just three days. Faced with reality they could not comprehend, they chose to reject it and grow their imagination wild.
On the high platform, however, the elders leaned forward against the railing, their expressions far more serious.
Their cultivation was higher. Their eyesight is far sharper than that of the disciples of the clan.
They could see clearly that this was no coincidence.
This was an absolute suppression.
Although Li Mingtian had only used half of his strength, Ryan's two fingers carried even greater power. That was why Li Mingtian had been sent flying.
Still, the elders also noted that Li Mingtian had not gone all out. This single exchange did not yet determine the final outcome.
What truly shocked them was something else.
Ryan's strength far exceeded the realm of a typical Upper Elite for sure.
"I didn't expect Li Wei to advance from Elite to Upper Elite in such a short time," an elder muttered. "No wonder he dared to challenge Li Mingtian."
"So it's become interesting," Li Shuren said with a sly smile. "Two Upper Elites. Victory and defeat are no longer certain."
The more unpredictable the fight, the more thrilling it became—and the more profitable his gamble.
"Our Li Clan is truly rising," another elder said with excitement. "Two geniuses appearing in the same generation, both Upper Elites at this age… If they're allowed to grow for a decade, reaching even Upper Exalt may even become possible."
"Congratulations, Patriarch!" an elder clasped his fists.
Others quickly followed suit, congratulating Li Gengxin.
"This is a blessing for the Li Clan," Li Gengxin said modestly, waving his hand, though pride shone unmistakably in his eyes.
As Ryan's father, how could he not feel honored?
Though he did not understand how Ryan's strength had improved so rapidly, who in this world did not possess secrets? Clearly, his son had encountered a great opportunity.
"Hmph."
The Seventh Elder snorted coldly, his face dark.
His grandson lay dead, yet Ryan's reputation soared higher and higher. The contrast gnawed at him like poison, filling his heart with resentment.
A sinister glint flickered in his eyes as a decision quietly took shape.
On the Yanwu Ring, the duel continued.
"I don't understand how you did it," Li Mingtian said grimly, clenching his fist, "but I only used half my strength just now. Be careful—next, I won't hold back."
"Good," Ryan replied with a faint smile. "Use your full strength."
His expression was relaxed, almost lazy. After days without proper rest, exhaustion was creeping in. He wanted this fight over quickly—then sleep.
Li Mingtian took a deep breath.
"Then I'll show you the Li Clan's Sky rank martial art, something not even the elders couldn't master!"
He brought his hands together, muttering an incantation. His left hand gripped his right wrist as the right fist drew back. White energy visibly gathered, flowing from his body and condensing around his fist.
In an instant, his right hand was wrapped in hazy white light.
"Die!"
"Arcane Ice soul art!"
With a roar, Li Mingtian surged forward, his glowing fist tearing through the air as he smashed it toward Ryan.
Li Mingtian's fist, wrapped in dense white radiance, seemed to grow scorching hot.
As it surged forward, a semicircle of dark-yellow flame-like qi rippled outward, clinging tightly to his knuckles like a compressed shockwave rather than being released.
The air screamed.
It was not an illusion. The shrill, tearing sound that accompanied the punch was so sharp it made one's scalp prickle, as if the space itself were being ripped open.
Anyone could tell at a glance—this was no ordinary strike. The power hidden within that fist was terrifying.
"So this is Arcane Ice soul art…"
"Unbelievable! Li Mingtian has actually mastered our Li Clan's Sky rank martial art!"
"That technique was passed down from our ancestors. Its power is monstrous, and the difficulty is outrageous. To think he succeeded!"
"As expected of the greatest genius of the Li Clan!"
"With this punch, Li Wei is finished!"
"Even if Li Wei truly reached the Upper Elite realm, he still can't withstand a top-grade Earth rank martial art!"
"His rise was impressive, but it ends here."
Voices erupted across the martial field. Admiration, envy, pride—every emotion swirled together, but not a single person believed Ryan could survive this blow.
Even on the high platform, Li Gengxin's palms were damp with sweat.
That move was no ordinary martial art. Arcane Ice soul art was the Li Clan's strongest inheritance. Its might was something even he, as the clan head, had never fully mastered.
"Haah…"
Li Gengxin let out a quiet sigh.
Back then, it was precisely because Li Mingtian's talent was so extraordinary that the elders unanimously allowed him to cultivate Arcane Ice soul art. He had been groomed as the next patriarch, granted the title of Heaven's Chosen, his very name altered to Li Mingtian.
Ryan, on the other hand, had once been nothing but a discarded tras. Who could have imagined that fate would twist so cruelly, placing his son beneath this terrifying punch?
On the platform, the elders wore smiles instead of worry.
"Mingtian truly lives up to expectations."
"With him leading the Li Clan in the future, our clan will prosper for another century."
"It's a pity about Li Wei, though. He didn't even try to dodge."
"If only one can be chosen, then Mingtian is the obvious answer."
Only one person felt differently.
Li Xue.
She stared at Ryan without blinking, her heart steady and resolute.
She had seen his transformation. She knew that the current Ryan was no longer bound by common sense or ordinary limits. If he were to fall to a mere Sky rank martial art, then everything she believed in would shatter.
"Brother Li," she whispered, fists clenched, "I believe in you."
On the ring, Li Mingtian's glowing fist was already less than half a meter from Ryan's face.
Yet Ryan did not move.
He stood there calmly, as if the roaring punch before him were nothing more than a passing breeze.
Some people could no longer bear to watch and shut their eyes.
"It's over."
But then—
"Hmph."
A cold snort escaped Ryan's lips.
In that instant, he finally moved.
He raised his hand.
Two fingers.
Exactly the same motion as before.
He flicked forward casually, aiming straight at Li Mingtian's fist.
"He's insane!"
"That's a Sky rank martial art, even above the Earth rank!"
"Two fingers!!! He's courting death!"
"The previous exchange doesn't count—this is full strength plus martial arts!"